Q: Introduction to perimenopause – when it begins, what are the signs and symptoms?
A: Many women do not realize that menopause does not happen over 24 hours. For a period of 10 to 15 years before menopause is established at the average age of 51, a woman will already be undergoing a period of change in a phase of life known as perimenopause or ‘around menopause’. Perimenopause is typically experienced by women aged between 40 and 56.

Functional capacity (FC) in active postmenopausal women depends more on lower limb muscle strength than on abdominal obesity, suggesting that those with abdominal obesity may not necessarily have a reduced FC as long as lower limb muscle strength is preserved, according to a study.

This review article outlines the prevalence of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) and hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), definition of NVP and HG, aetiology, risk factors, complications of HG, recommended investigations, primary care management, hospital and ambulatory daycare, therapeutic management of HG supported by good clinical evidence, discharge planning, and importance of the multidisciplinary team to provide high quality care in patients with NVP and HG.

Decline in mammographic density greatest during menopause

17 Jul 2017

Age-associated declines in mammographic density (MD), while occurring pre- and postmenopausally, are most pronounced during menopause, a new study reports.

This trend is consistent worldwide and across a wide variety of ethnic and geographical groups suggesting an underlying innate biological mechanism.

Analysis of 11,423 women (35 to 85 years of age) showed that postmenopausal women had lower percent MD (PD; difference, -0.46 cm; 95 percent CI, -0.53 to -0.39) and lower dense area (difference, -0.55 cm; -0.65 to -0.45) compared with premenopausal women of the same age.

On the other hand, nondense area (difference, 0.32 cm; 0.21 to 0.43) was larger in postmenopausal women than in premenopausal women of the same age.

In premenopausal women, every 10-year increase in age was associated with decreases in PD (difference, -0.24; -0.34 to -0.14) and dense area (difference, -0.27; -0.41 to -0.14). Changes in PD and dense area were not associated with changes in breast area.

PD (difference, -0.38; -0.44 to -0.33) and dense area (difference, -0.32; -0.39 to -0.24) also decreased in postmenopausal women with every 10-year increase in age. In contrast to premenopausal women, a corresponding increase in breast area (difference, 0.34; 0.24 to 0.39) was observed in postmenopausal women.

While there were variations in the trend when the women were grouped according to reproductive factors (parity and age at first birth), there were no significant variations across the different ethnic groups except for larger decreases in PD in Malay and South Asian women.

Information was retrieved from the International Consortium on Mammographic Density. Participants were free of breast cancer and were categorized as pre- (n=4,534) or postmenopausal (n=6,481). MD was measured using the Cumulus method.

Q: Introduction to perimenopause – when it begins, what are the signs and symptoms?
A: Many women do not realize that menopause does not happen over 24 hours. For a period of 10 to 15 years before menopause is established at the average age of 51, a woman will already be undergoing a period of change in a phase of life known as perimenopause or ‘around menopause’. Perimenopause is typically experienced by women aged between 40 and 56.

Functional capacity (FC) in active postmenopausal women depends more on lower limb muscle strength than on abdominal obesity, suggesting that those with abdominal obesity may not necessarily have a reduced FC as long as lower limb muscle strength is preserved, according to a study.

This review article outlines the prevalence of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) and hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), definition of NVP and HG, aetiology, risk factors, complications of HG, recommended investigations, primary care management, hospital and ambulatory daycare, therapeutic management of HG supported by good clinical evidence, discharge planning, and importance of the multidisciplinary team to provide high quality care in patients with NVP and HG.